You Are Not Alone
by FallenAngel218
Summary: Gibbs is pissed that McGee is late for work... until his Junior Agent comes into work with a black eye and a bad attitude. Convinced something is wrong with McGee, Gibbs will not rest until he gets to the bottom of Tim's stange behavior, and he may not like what he finds...
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N: **I'm slowly breaking into this fandom... I've explored Gibbs in my first two pieces. I'm moving on in this one to explore Tim McGee. This fic may border AU. It's the Tim we see at the beginning of Season 2, when he doesn't seem to have a lot of confidence in himself. _

_**Disclaimers/Warnings: **Rated T... without revealing the story, I'm going to pass a violence warning out there... please keep this in mind as you read, and if you're bothered I won't be offended if you stop reading. I do not own NCIS or any of the characters._

"Anyone seen McGee?" Gibbs asked gruffly as he entered the bullpen with his morning coffee. Kate was busy typing, and Tony was well, Tony. He was digging through his desk for something, obviously not paying any attention to the fact that his boss had just walked in. Gibbs walked up to Tony's desk and took him by the shirt, bringing him back to a sitting position. "I asked you if you've seen McGee. Did you forget your hearing aid today, DiNozzo?"

"No Boss, sorry." Gibbs let go of him. "Tim hasn't come in yet."

"I know that, DiNozzo. Have you _heard _from him?"

"No Boss, haven't heard from him either. I'll call him right now." As Tony turned to pick up the phone, the rear elevator dinged, and McGee stepped out, looking disheveled and forlorn. What bothered Tony more was the black eye the Probie was sporting.

"McGee!" Gibbs shouted, meeting his junior agent in the middle of the room. "Where the hell have you been!"

"Bad morning," he said, depositing his gear next to his desk. Gibbs grabbed his arm to turn him around. He wasn't done with the Probie yet. As Gibbs laid a hand on his arm, Tim flinched and fell back into his chair. Gibbs took a step back. He'd never had that reaction before.

"Are you all right?"

"Y-yeah," Tim stammered. "Fine, boss. Sorry I'm late." He powered on his computer and opened his drawer to deposit his gun and badge there.

"McGee, with me please," Gibbs said, motioning to the elevator. McGee ignored him. In Gibbs' mind, reg flags were going up everywhere. McGee had reacted more like Tony at being late this morning, had fallen backward when Gibbs tried to touch him, and ignored him when he tried to get him to accompany him to Abby's lab. Something was bothering the kid. He tried one more time.

"McGee, now!" McGee's head snapped up this time, and he rose from his seat.

"Yes, Boss."

As soon as the elevator doors shut, Gibbs hit the emergency stop.

"You wanna talk about what's bothering you?"

"Not particularly," he said, reaching for the emergency stop. Gibbs blocked his path.

"Not so fast. Talk to me."

"I really don't want to talk about it right now. It's personal." Tim reached for the emergency stop again, and Gibbs blocked him again.

"You're going to see Ducky about your eye. We can talk about this later."

Tim nodded. He couldn't argue with that. He'd let Ducky look at his eye, and that would be that. There was no way anyone at work could know how that happened.

The elevator opened at Autopsy, and Tim followed Jethro through the doors to Ducky, who was sitting in his office at the computer.

"Hey Duck," Jethro said casually. "Can you look at McGee's eye?"

"Oh my, Timothy. What happened?"

"I fell this morning. It's not really that bad."

"Come and sit here," Ducky said, motioning toward an empty table.

As Tim pulled himself up onto the table, Jethro could not help but notice that he winced a little. He was hiding something else. Jethro went from concerned to full-on worried.

"Take off your shirt, Tim," he ordrered, taking his Probie by surprise.

"Why would I - "

"I saw the look on your face while you were getting onto the table. You're in pain. You were also favoring your left leg on the way down here."

"I'm fine," Tim stated quickly.

"You're not fine, Tim," Gibbs said. "Take off your shirt and let Ducky look at you."

"I said I'm fine. Please, just leave me alone." Tim got off the table and brushed by Gibbs, leaving Autopsy.

"He's not acting like himself, Ducky."

"Just give Timothy some time, Jethro. He'll come around."

"I hope you're right."

_NCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCIS_

The rest of the day was hard for Tim. They'd had to process the body of a dead Marine in a park, and he tried with all his might not to wince as he bent over with the camera. He was hoping that none of his colleagues had seen through his efforts.

When he'd finished with the photographs, he straightened up and felt a shot of pain course through his back. Maybe it was worse than he'd originally thought. As he packed up his gear, he felt the presence of someone next to him.

"McGee, walk with me," Gibbs said.

"Just a sec, Boss." He hurriedly put his equipment into his backpack and started toward Gibbs' car. Gibbs silently got in the car. McGee wasn't sure if he should get in, until he saw Gibbs glaring at him. He opened the passenger door and slid into the seat. Gibbs locked the doors and started the engine.

"Hey! What are you doing!" Tim shouted, trying to open his door.

"We need to talk, and you're not running away this time." He put the car into drive and started back toward the Navy yard.

Tim remained silent for much of the drive. Gibbs finally gave in to the silence.

"You ready to tell me what's wrong, Tim?"

"Nope."

Gibbs hated 'nope.' It was a huge pet peeve. If it were DiNozzo saying it, he'd head slap him. He pulled the car over and turned off the engine.

"Don't pull that crap with me, McGee," he said sternly. "I saw you hovering over that body. You could barely bend over. Don't sit there and tell me 'nope.' I can clearly tell you're in pain. Now spill it."

"Boss, it's kinda embarrassing - "

"Off the record. Between you and me. No one else has to know."

"W-well, I-I was seeing this woman -" McGee stopped. He couldn't do it. It was too embarrassing. He turned his head and looked out the window.

"Look at me, Tim." Gibbs tried. Tim didn't move. Gibbs put a hand on his shoulder. "Tim, I'm not going to laugh at you. You can tell me what's going on. I want to help you." Tim slowly turned to face Gibbs. Tears had started to roll down his cheeks.

"Her name is Donna. We dated for three months. She was sweet at first, kinda like Abby," Tim smiled at the thought of Abby. "After two months, she started to get clingy. She'd stay at my apartment and not leave for days. She'd get upset that I didn't call her while I was at work, and go through my phone while I was in the shower, to see if I was cheating on her."

"Sounds delightful," Gibbs tried to joke. Tim forced a small smile. Something occurred to Jethro at that moment. "Tim, did she hurt you?" Tim nodded shakily.

"It happened early this morning. She got up before me, at 4 a.m. I got up around six. When I went into the kitchen to start my coffee, I found her standing there, going through my phone. She hit me in the face when I went to take it from her. She'd found Kate's cell in my recent calls, and demanded to know who she was."

"I take it she didn't believe you," said Jethro.

"N-no. She didn't. I managed to get my phone back, and I asked her to leave, and not come back."

"Which she objected to."

"Obviously. We ended up screaming at each other. In anger, I said—" He stopped again and tried to turn away, but Jethro wouldn't let him. This woman had broken Tim down, rid him of self-respect. Yet Tim still felt guilty about hurting her. Jethro always thought his youngest agent had a big heart. That's what he liked about Tim.

"It's all right, Tim."

"I told her I hated her, that she was a clingy bitch, and that I never wanted to see her again."

"Sounds like my second wife," Gibbs joked again, trying to get Tim to smile. "So how'd she take that?"

"Not good. She chased me around my apartment, with a cast iron frying pan. She got a couple of shots at my shoulder and my back. I tripped on the leg of the coffee table, and when I fell, she took another swing and hit me in the shin."

"Wow," Gibbs said. "That sounds like my 3rd wife." He smiled.

"Not funny, Boss." Tim chided. "I managed to knock her backward onto the couch. The cops got there as I was holding her down, prying the frying pan from her hand. She was screaming in a rage. The cops were about to arrest me, until they saw my face."

"LEOs took her away?"

"Yep. Under mental health arrest. I spent the rest of the morning on the phone, getting a restraining order."

"Which is what made you late," Gibbs finished.

"Right."

"That's a hell of a story, Tim."

"Please don't say anything in front of Tony and Kate," Tim pleaded. "You know how Tony can be."

"Your secret is safe with me. You gonna be okay, McGee?"

"Yeah, you know what? I think I'll be all right. It felt good to talk about that with someone."

"Anytime, McGee." Gibbs looked at his watch. Tony and Kate should be back at the Navy yard already. He flipped open his phone and dialed Tony's desk phone.

_"DiNozzo." _

"What have you got for me on the dead Marine?"

_"Kate already has a suspect in custody. It was pretty open and shut, boss. It was the wife." _

"Good. I want the paperwork on my desk by the time I get back." He heard Tony groan.

_"But Boss - " _he hung up the phone, cutting off Tony's whining. He turned to Tim. The kid still looked beaten down, almost depressed. He'd been with some crazy women himself, but he never experienced what McGee had that morning. He may have said he was all right, but Gibbs knew he wasn't really. Not yet.

"We're going for a drink," Gibbs said, starting his car. McGee didn't have the energy to protest as Gibbs pulled away from the curb.

_NCISCISNCISNCIS_

Tim was shocked when Gibbs pulled into the driveway of a white ranch home.

"Where are we?" he asked.

"My house," Gibbs said, getting out of the car. "Come on."

Tim followed Gibbs inside.

"Sit down," Gibbs ordered.

McGee sat down on the couch almost awkwardly. He was in his boss' house. He had only started to work with Gibbs a few months ago, and he was already inviting him to his house?

His thoughts were broken when Gibbs returned with two glasses and a bottle of Jameson. He set them down on the coffee table and poured some of the amber liquid in each glass. McGee waved it off when Gibbs picked up the glass and held it out to him.

"I don't drink whiskey, Boss," he blurted out. Gibbs stood there, glaring. He hated that glare. He was always intimidated by it. He reached out and took the glass from Gibbs. He took a long swig, and started coughing rapidly as the liquid burned his throat.

"Sip it, McGee," Gibbs chided.

"R-right Boss." Tim sipped the whiskey as directed. It wasn't half bad.

"How are you feeling, McGee?"

"I said I was fine in the car, Boss."

"You don't look fine."

Tim set his glass down and stood up.

"I really should be going," he said, and started for the door.

"How are you getting home, McGee? Bus? There isn't a bus stop around here for miles. Rail station is six blocks away. You gonna walk there in the rain?" Tim stopped in the middle of the room, but didn't turn around. "Sit down, McGee." Tim turned around slowly and sat back down on the couch.

"Listen to me, McGee. What happened to you is not your fault. Do NOT feel guilty for saying what you said. She deserved it. Hell, she chased you around your apartment with a frying pan. She deserves more than that."

"She wouldn't have done that if I hadn't called her that."

"Shut up. That woman has mental health issues, McGee. She may have lashed out another way, and it could have been a lot worse. She is getting help now. Hopefully."

"I just want it all to go away," Tim said, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"It will. Give it time." Gibbs poured more whiskey into Tim's glass as they heard a knock on the door.

"It's open," Gibbs shouted.

Tim was surprised to see Ducky come in.

"You called Ducky? You promised you wouldn't tell anyone!" Tim got up and tried to leave, but Jethro cut him off before he reached the front door. "Relax McGee, Ducky is only here to check you over. Nothing goes beyond this room."

"You promised!" he tried to push Gibbs away in a rage, but Jethro grabbed him by his wrists to restrain him.

"Tim! Stop it right now, Damn it! You need to calm down." Tim started to settle down a bit, and Jethro guided him to the couch.

"I'm not fine, Boss."

"I can see that, Tim." Jethro smiled. "Are you up for Ducky checking you out real quick?"

"Y-yeah. Okay."

Tim took off his jacket and tie, and unbuttoned his dress shirt. Jethro's eyes went wide when he got a look at McGee's back. His shoulder was black and blue, and he had a large black and blue welt on his back.

"My God," Ducky whispered. "This will only take a moment, Timothy."

"All right."

"Tim, why didn't you tell me you were in that much pain?"

"I didn't want you to send me home," Tim blurted out as Ducky probed his back.

"Timothy, have you any wounds anywhere else?"

"My shin," he admitted. He reached down and rolled up his pant leg as high as it would go. His shin looked worse than his back.

"My dear boy, how are you walking around on this?"

"It hasn't been easy, Ducky." The ME finished his examination, and Jethro helped him to his feet.

"Timothy, I want you to come see me straight away in the morning. I want to wrap that shin of yours." Ducky turned to Gibbs. "Keep him on desk duty He shouldn't be walking on that."

"Will do, Duck. Thanks."

As soon as Ducky left, Jethro sat down next to Tim on the couch. "Tim, are you afraid to go back home?"

"Not afraid, just – nervous."

"She isn't there, Tim. She was arrested. You'll be safe." Tim swallowed down the rest of his whiskey. He was beginning to like the way it burned in his throat. He could get used to drinking it.

"Come on, I'll take you home. You're going to be fine."

Gibbs handed Tim his shirt and coat, and Tim put them on and followed Gibbs out the door. He couldn't hide from his apartment forever.

_**TBC... This was supposed to be a one shot, but it'll have to be two chapters long. Please, let me know what you think! I hope I didn't ramble. Tim may seem slightly out of character, but I wanted to play on the fact that he is very nervous and impressionable in the very beginning of Season 2. Please review! Chapter 2 coming soon!**_


	2. Chapter 2

_**A/N: **Thanks to everyone who reviewed, followed and favorited! I was floored by the response chapter 1 had. Tim is one of my favorite characters in the show. I like to see the way Gibbs reacts with Tim and Tony throughout the series. See? I'm obsessed! Hope you enjoy chapter 2! I am going to attempt Abby, though I'm not sure I can get her perfect. Wish me luck!_

After Gibbs had left, Tim just wanted to go to bed. He didn't have the energy for anything else, save a shower. He undressed and stood under the hot water, trying to ease some of the pain he was in. As he shampooed his hair, a flashback of that morning came to mind.

_**That morning, 0430 hours**_

_"Tim! Open this door right now! Tim! I mean it!" _

_ Tim had the shower running, and he was cowering in the corner. She'd been up screaming since 4 a.m. He'd finally decided to just get up and get ready for work. He tuned out her screaming as he made his way to the bathroom to take a shower. He closed the door on her as she bum rushed the bathroom door. _

_ "I want to know who this Kate bitch is, Tim! Is she your new girlfriend? Is this your way of breaking up with me? Tim! Open this door! Damn it Tim! I"ll break this door down if you don't open it!" _

_ "Leave me the hell alone!" he yelled from the shower. _

_ "Fuck you, Tim! Fuck YOU!" _

_ Tim heard her feet hitting the door, and he realized she was trying to kick it in. She'd really lost it this morning. He turned off the shower and wrapped his towel around his waist. He'd started keeping a set of clothes hanging on the hook in his bathroom door, so he could dress right there. He put on his clothes as she continued to kick the door. As he took his tie from the hanger, the kicking ceased. It was quiet. Too quiet. For the first time, Tim was actually afraid to leave his own bathroom. '_

Tim started to quiver from the pain in his leg, and sunk down to the tub, pulling his knees to his chest. All he could hear was Donna's screaming, her fists pounding on the bathroom door. The frying pan had occurred after the incident in the bathroom. She wouldn't even give him the chance to explain anything. She'd gone completely insane. He felt broken and humiliated. She'd broken him, and he wasn't sure how to fix himself.

_NCISNCISNCISNCIS_

"Timmy!" Abby shouted as she pounded on his door. It was around midnight. She had been trying to call him all night, and he wasn't picking up his phone. "Timmy! Come on, open up!" He wasn't opening the door, which Abby knew was _definitely _not like her Timmy bear. She flipped through the keys on her ring until she came to his, and opened the door to his apartment.

Abby gasped at the sight of Tim's living room. His computer equipment was strewn all over the place, some of it in pieces. A plant that once stood on a corner stand was on the floor, the pot broken. Among the mess of dirt, Abby could make out footprints on the carpet. One looked like sock feet – big enough to be Timmy's. The other was a bare foot. It looked female. And it was behind Tim's footprints. Someone had chased Tim through his living room.

As she neared the back of the room, she could hear the shower running in the bathroom.

"Tim!" She shouted. "Timmy are you all right?" She knocked on the bathroom door.

"Go away!" he shouted. "Please, no more!"

Her heart pounding, Abby turned the handle to the bathroom door. Thankfully, Tim hadn't locked it. She pushed it open. The shower was on, but she didn't see Tim standing in it. Her eyes drifted downward, and she saw his form through the shower curtain, sitting in the tub.

"Timmy! Oh my God!" She picked up his towel from the sink and reached in to turn off the water. Slowly pulling back the curtain, she found him with his knees to his chest, face buried in his arms. The water had been beating down on him, and he was shivering.

"Timmy, how long have you been in here?" Abby asked, sitting on the edge of the tub.

"Go away! Leave me alone!"

"Timmy. It's Abby! Tim!"

"No! GO AWAY!"

Abby flinched and dropped his towel as she stood up. She wasn't going to get through to him. She had to call the Bossman. Taking out her cell, she hit the speed dial to Gibbs' phone.

"Gibbs," he growled into the phone. "This better be good."

"Gibbs! It's Abby! I'm over at Tim's place. Gibbs he's having some kind of breakdown!"

Gibbs sat up in bed, flinging the covers from him.

"What happened?"

"I found him in the shower. He's been in here for a long time. He keeps yelling at me to go away. I'm scared, Gibbs!"

"Hold on, Abbs. I'm coming." Gibbs flipped his phone shut as he quickly dressed and ran out the door.

_NCISNCISNCISNCISNCIS_

Gibbs must have broken every record there was for speed. He made it to McGee's in 10 minutes flat. He practically flew up the stairs and burst through the door into McGee's apartment. A frantic Abby met him in the hallway by the bathroom.

"Gibbs Gibbs Gibbs!" She shouted, hugging him.

"Abby, what's happening?"

"He's just sitting there. He won't get up. I'm not sure he knows who I am. I tried to cover him up, but he keeps yelling every time I get close to him.

_Great, this won't be awkward at all, _Gibbs thought. He made his way into the bathroom. Tim was just as Abby had described.

"All right, McGee. Get up. You can't sit in here forever," he tried, in his usual militant way. McGee looked up, and his body relaxed when he realized it was his Boss talking to him. Gibbs handed him a towel.

"Cover up. We need to talk, McGee."

Tim reached out and took the towel. He shakily stood up, wrapping it around himself.

"A-alright, Boss."

Gibbs turned around. _At least the kid is covered up, _he thought. Before he could say anything else, Abby came in.

"He's shivering! We need to get him dressed!"

"Abby," Gibbs said gently, ushering her out of the bathroom. "Go home. I can take it from here."

"I'm really worried about Timmy. I want to stay."

"Just go home. I'll buy you a caf pow in the morning, and we'll talk, all right?"

"You better buy me TWO caf pows, mister." She turned and left.

Gibbs turned back to McGee, who was starting to waver in a standing position.

"How long were you in that shower, McGee?"

"S-since, since you d-dropped m-me off."

"You've been in there for four hours?" Gibbs asked. "You need to get dressed before you get hypothermic."

Gibbs led him into the bedroom.

"Get dressed. You don't need me to help you with that, do you?"

"N-no, I can do it."

Gibbs left the room to let him dress. A few minutes later, Tim appeared in the doorway to his bedroom, wearing sweatpants and an MIT t-shirt.

"You all right now, McGee?"

"Y-yeah. I'll be f-fine."

"Right. Get in the living room. I'm going to make some coffee."

"Uh, Boss!" McGee shouted as Gibbs headed for the kitchen. "She "uh, broke the coffee pot."

"Damn, McGee. Did she leave you anything unbroken?" Gibbs regretted the phrase as soon as it left his mouth. Tim started to tremble, and buckled from the pain in his leg. Gibbs caught him before he hit the ground.

"All right, how bout we get you in bed, McGee." Jethro helped him back into the bedroom and got Tim situated under the covers.

"You want to talk about what happened in the bathroom. Tim?"

"Not really."

"Tough. What happened?"

"I—I had a flashback. From this morning, Boss. Be-before the frying pan and the cell phone and the coffee pot. I-I was in the shower. Donna was pounding on the bathroom door. She was swearing, saying vile things about Kate, and just screaming in a rage. I swear I thought –"

Tim turned his head away from Gibbs. The humiliation from earlier had come back. 

"Tim, don't you dare shut down. You need to talk it out, son. You can't hold all this crap inside."

"I thought she was gonna break the door down. I was in the corner of the shower, cowering in fear. I felt like a fool, Boss. A damn fool." He looked away again, a tear rolling down his cheek.

"Hey! You look at me, Tim!" Slowly Tim brought his eyes back to Gibbs, who was now seated on the edge of his bed. _If seeing him in the bathroom wasn't humiliating enough, now his Boss was sitting with him in his bedroom, on his bed? This is so embarrassing. _

"I can't. I-I'm sorry Boss. I—I didn't want you to see me like that, in the bathroom. I feel—"

"Hey, it's all right, Tim. I've seen worse in the Marines. Believe me. You don't have to feel embarrassed in front of me."

"Wish it was that simple, Boss."

"Life isn't simple, Tim. It never is. What don't kill you, makes you stronger."

"No—no that's not true."

"Hey!" Gibbs couldn't help it. He head slapped him, but not hard. "Look at me!" Tim slowly brought his head up and looked at his Boss. "Good. Now listen to me, Tim. What happened to you was NOT your fault. When you got into that relationship, you couldn't have known it would turn out this way. She's _gone, _Tim, and she isn't coming back. You hear me? She's _gone! _"

Tim broke down. He couldn't hold it in anymore. He let the tears fall. Gibbs put an arm around his junior agent's shoulder.

"I'm s-sorry Boss, I'm so sorry…"

"For what?"

"I'm weak. I let you down, Boss. I'm a poor excuse for man." He sobbed.

"Listen to me, Tim. Listen! You're not weak! You're a good man, Tim. Don't do this to yourself."

Tim pushed him away and buried himself into his pillow. Gibbs stayed until Tim had cried himself to sleep. He left a note on Tim's night stand, and left him for the night.

_McGee, you're not weak. Don't forget that. See you at 0700. –Gibbs._

_NCISNCISNCISNCIS_

"Late again, McGoo?" Tony chided as Tim hurried to his desk the next morning. He'd woken up late that morning, and never set his alarm clock. "Boss man isn't going to – OW!"

"Leave him alone, DiNozzo," Gibbs said, after delivering a head slap to the SFA. "McGee!" Gibbs shouted.

"Yes, Boss?" McGee stood up at his desk.

"Twice in a row, McGee, I'm disappointed. If you're late one more time, you're on desk duty! Got it?"

"Yes, Boss. Understood." Tim sat down at his desk. He had a mountain of paperwork backed up from previous cases to finish and get to Gibbs. As he started in on it, his desk phone rang. Not recognizing the caller ID, he took a chance and answered it.

"McGee."

"I wasn't done with you, Tim! How dare you!" Tim's face went ashen as he immediately recognized the voice. Donna.

"This is done. Please stop calling me – "

"This is _far _from over. You haven't seen the last of me, Tim McGee!" with that she hung up loudly in his ear.

Tim shakily put down the phone. It was then that he realized that Tony was staring at him.

"What, Tony?"

"Nothing. Havin' some trouble?"

"None of your business." Tim started typing a report. Tony got up and went over to Tim's desk.

"Come on, Probie, you know you can always talk to me."

"I said drop it, Tony. Leave me alone!"

Gibbs had come up behind Tony as the two were talking. He was afraid that Tony might probe Tim for answers. He'd put an end to that. He delivered a firm head slap to the back of Tony's head.

"Leave him alone, DiNozzo."

"Geez Boss! That hurt!"

"Grab your gear. We have a dead Marine. A kid found him early this morning in the river." Rubbing his head from Gibbs latest blow, Tony grabbed his pack. "DiNozzo, get the car ready. I'll be down shortly. McGee," he said, turning to Tim. "With me."

Tim followed Jethro to the opposite elevator. Once the doors were closed, Jethro pulled the emergency stop.

"Did you see Ducky this morning, like he asked?"

_Oh shit. I was supposed to see Ducky! _Tim thought. He was in for it now with Gibbs.

"Um, not y-yet Boss. I had a lot of paperwork –"

"You were to report to Ducky before you went to your desk, McGee."

"I'm sorry, Boss."

Tim gave in too easily. Jethro's gut told him something else had happened, and Tim wasn't telling him.

"What's the matter, McGee? Did something else happen to you?"

McGee's silence told Jethro everything he needed to know.

"Spill it, McGee."

"She called me."

"She? _Donna? _"

"Y—yeah. She called my desk phone. I never gave her that number, Boss. She said she wasn't done with me yet."

Gibbs ran a hand over his face. This woman was bordering on stalker at this point. He didn't want to chance McGee being out in the field.

"Okay, go see Ducky. Then you're on desk duty until I instruct you further. Got it?"

"What about –"

"When I get back with Tony, we'll take care of this. I don't want you looking into this yourself, Tim. Do you understand me?"

"Yes, Boss."

"Good. Now get your ass downstairs and see Ducky."

The doors opened and Jethro stepped out into the bullpen area. Tim was alone. Again. He hated alone. He rode down to autopsy. Palmer was the only one there when he arrived.

"Hey, Jimmy," Tim said.

"Hey Tim! What brings you down here?"

"I'm looking for Ducky. Is he still here?"

"He went to meet Gibbs at a crime scene – are you all right?" Palmer asked, noticing Tim was favoring one leg over the other.

"Um, not really. Ducky was supposed to look at my shin."

"I can take a look for ya," Palmer offered.

"Um, all right. I guess that would be okay." Tim bent down and rolled up his pant leg.

"Oh my God! How are you—"

"Walking? Ducky asked me that last night. He wanted to wrap it up for me this morning."

"Well you may need more than that. Here," Palmer went into Ducky's office and came back with a pair of crutches. "I sprained my ankle about a month ago. These have been down here for a while. Use them until Dr. Mallard gets back. He's going to want to look at that again."

"Thanks, Jimmy. I think I'll be all right until Ducky gets back."

"You shouldn't be walking on that. You could make it worse."

"I'll be fine, thanks. Can you have Ducky call me when he gets back?"

"Will do!" Jimmy called after him as Tim left Autopsy. Dr. Mallard was _not _going to be happy about this.

_NCISNCISNCISNCIS_

"McGee!"

Tim looked up from his paperwork at the sound of his Boss' voice.

"Yes Boss,"

"Did you see Ducky?"

"Not exactly=="

"Come again?"

"He was with you, at the crime scene. Palmer was downstairs."

"And?"

"And, nothing. I came back up here."

"Conference room, McGee, _now." _

Tim gulped and slowly rose from his chair. He walked ahead of his boss to Conference Room 1. As soon as they got there Gibbs closed the door behind them.

"Sit."

McGee fell into one of the soft chairs. The pain in his shin was almost unbearable.

"Why won't you see Ducky?"

"Because I'm fine, Boss. I don't need to—"

Gibbs slammed his hands down on the table, causing McGee to jump.

"I am sick of hearing that you're fine, McGee. You and me both know that you are _not _fine. That denial thing isn't gonna work with me. You're going to see Ducky, period. End of discussion."

"Boss—"

"No more excuses, McGee. I can't help you unless you're willing to help yourself. The first step is seeing Ducky and letting him fix your leg."

Tim nodded slowly, and started to stand.

"I didn't tell you to get up, McGee."

"What? Boss, you can't—"

"Sit. Now."

With an annoyed sigh, McGee sat down in the chair again.

"Ducky is going to come up here and fix you up. Until then, you are _not _to move from this chair. When he's done, you're on desk duty."

"Boss!"

Gibbs got up and left the room, practically slamming the door behind him. Tim hung his head. He wasn't just weak. Gibbs now saw him as a failure. He was no man. He was scum. He slowly put his head down on the table and cried. He screwed up, and Gibbs hated him.

_**All right, TBC! I've never written a chapter this long, but I didn't wanna leave anyone hanging for too long! Enjoy! And review! **_


	3. Chapter 3

_**Notes: **Thanks again to all of my loyal readers! Keep those follows and reviews coming! _

Tim sat in the conference room for ten minutes before Ducky joined him. It took the M.E. twenty more minutes to scold him for not coming down right away this morning, and to wrap his shin tightly. He'd also brought Palmer's crutches, and made Tim promise to use them for at least a week. Tim reluctantly agreed

When Ducky left, Tim made his way back out to the squad room. Gibbs was sitting at his desk, nursing a cup of coffee. He made a point to crutch past his desk, to show Gibbs he was following orders. When he finally got to his desk, he found a mountain of files waiting for him.

"What's all this, Boss?" he said as he sat down and started to sift through them.

"Cold cases, McGee. Solve them."

"Boss, there are seven folders here," he said. Gibbs turned around and glared at him. "All right, all right, I'll see what I can do."

"Good." Gibbs stalked off toward the break room to get himself another cup of coffee.

Tim sighed and opened up the first file. It was going to be a long day.

_**NCISNCISNCISNCISNCIS**_

__As luck would have it, two of the cases Gibbs had given him were from cyber crimes. It didn't take him long to solve them. Thankfully, he had Agent Balboa's team to help him make the arrests, as Gibbs and the rest of the team had been out for much of the day following leads to find the killer of a Gunnery Sergeant, found dead in his car outside Bethesda. Gibbs was on the warpath.

As Tim opened his third case file and reached for his phone to phone a lead, Tony and Gibbs came into the squad room, shouting furiously at each other. Tim buried himself into his folders. He didn't want to be involved.

"The ONE time I let you drive, DiNozzo, and you _total _the damn car!"

"It wasn't my fault!"

"So you didn't run that red light?"

"The _other _guy ran the light, Boss! It was green on my side!"

Gibbs turned to face Tony, and got as closed to his SFA's face as humanly possible.

"Listen to me, Tony. You are NOT driving until further notice."

"But Boss – "

"End of discussion, DiNozzo!"

Tim tried not to snicker as he made a note in the file he was working on. As he picked up the phone, Tony slammed his fist onto the desk. Tim nearly dropped the phone.

"What the hell was that for, Tony!"

"It isn't funny, McGimpy."

Tim could feel his anger start to rise.

"That nickname isn't funny, Tony."

"What are you gonna do about it, McWimpy? Huh?" Tony dared him.

Tim's blood was boiling over. He could feel his hands fisting. He jumped out of his chair and reared his fist back. As he brought it forward to connect with Tony's face, a pair of strong hands grabbed his arm.

"McGee, what in the hell do you think you're doing!" Gibbs yelled in his junior agent's face.

"He provoked it, Boss – "

"I don't give a shit who provoked it, McGee. I don't want to EVER see you raise a hand toward another member of this team, EVER."

DiNozzo stepped forward, nerouvsly.

"Boss, I—"

"DiNozzo, I've about had it with you and your attitude today. If you don't get your ass over to that desk and get me that report in ten minutes – "

"On it right now, Boss," Tony grumbled, going over to his desk. Gibbs turned back to McGee, and was shocked to find him gone. He'd left behind his badge and a message on his computer screen. **Goodbye.**

_Did McGee just quit on me? _Gibbs thought quickly. _Like hell! _Gibbs took out his cell and dialed Tim's phone number.

"McGee."

"Tim, what the hell are you doing!"

"What I should have done a long time ago." Tim hung up the phone and slipped it into his coat pocket. This is what he had to do.

_**NCISNCISNCISNCISNCIS**_

__Tim wasn't sure if he was relieved to be home or not as he unlocked the door to his apartment. Making sure the door was locked behind him, He went over to the couch and set down the brown bag he'd brought in with him. From it he took a bottle of Jameson Whiskey. He grabbed a glass from the kitchen and poured himself a glass.

An hour and a half later the bottle was two thirds of the way empty. Tim practically slammed down his glass on the coffee table. He reached into his belt and produced his SIG. As he checked the clip, he heard a sharp knock at his door.

"Go away," he shouted loudly.

"McGee! Open this door!"

_Great, Gibbs is here to tell me more about how much of a failure I am. _As Tim gathered his thoughts, his apartment door slowly opened.

"I thought I locked that," he grumbled as Gibbs stepped into the apartment and closed the door behind him.

"You did," he stated simply, slipping his lock pick kit into his back pocket. He studied the young agent before him. There was a bottle of whiskey in front of him, and an empty, glassy look in Tim's eyes. He was completely wasted. Gibbs also noticed that Tim was holding his SIG, and checking the clip.

"So is that how this ends, Tim? You're just gonna shoot yourself?"

"I'm a failure as a man, Boss. I'm just done, with everything." He slammed the clip back into place and started to raise the gun to his head. Gibbs thought quickly.

"Hey, Tim, take it easy with that thing. Why don't we talk for a bit?" Gibbs said, slowly crossing the room to sit in Tim's easy chair. Tim suddenly turned his SIG on Gibbs.

"Don't come any closer!"

"Don't do anything stupid, McGee. Put down the gun."

"I wanna do this, Boss," Tim slurred. "I have to," Tim stood up and started to wobble. Gibbs took the opportunity to cross the room and disarm him. Tim fought him, flailing his arms drunkenly in an attempt to punch Gibbs.

"Hey! Knock it off, McGee! Right now!" Gibbs said, grabbling the struggling agent by the wrists and forcing him back down onto the couch. "Listen to me, Tim! You are NOT worthless! You hear me?"

"Let me go!" Tim shouted, still trying to struggle. Gibbs held him down on the couch, refusing to let go.

"Tim! Stop struggling before you hurt yourself!" Tim finally digressed, and his " body fell slack on the couch.

"Listen to me, son. You are one of the finest men I know. I wouldn't have promoted you to my team if I didn't think so."

"You've been an ass all day, Boss. What was I supposed to think? That you _liked _me?"

"Yeah, you're right. I _have _been an ass, and I'm sorry for that."

"Apologizing is a sign of weakness, Boss."

"That rule you can remember," Gibbs said, to try and get Tim to laugh. It wasn't working. "Killing yourself isn't the answer, McGee. It never is."

Tim could feel tears running down his face.

"I'm weak, Boss. I'm useless in the field."

":You haven't been listening, have you? You are a good man, Tim. You're far from weak. You are one of the strongest people I know. You just have to see that for yourself."

Tim wasn't paying much attention to Gibbs. He was more concerned about the gurgling in his stomach. He got up and raced for the bathroom. Gibbs followed, and arrived just in time to see Tim drop to his knees and vomit. _At least he made it to the toilet, _Gibbs thought, relieved.

Tim sat sprawled on his bathroom floor for twenty minutes, bringing up the whiskey he'd just drank. When he was finally finished, his body went slack.

"Oh no you don't," Gibbs said, catching Tim by the underarms, and saving him from whacking his head on the toilet seat on the way down. He practically carried Tim into his bedroom and got him into bed.

"Boss – " Tim stammered.

"Get some sleep, Tim. It's all right."

Tim nodded, and drifted off into an alcohol induce sleep.

Jethro went back into the living room and lay down on the couch. He wasn't going anywhere.

_**NCISNCISNCISNCIS**_

__Tim was awakened the next morning by the aroma of fresh coffee. He sat up in bed, but immediately regretted it. A pounding headache came at him full force. Steadying himself from the dizziness, Tim got out of bed and went into the bathroom to get some ibuprofen. He caught his reflection in the mirror as he opened the medicine cabinet. He looked like crap. He wasn't the Tim McGee he remembered. He didn't like this side of himself.

After taking a few pills, he followed the coffee aroma into the kitchen. A brand new coffee maker sat on his counter, with a full pot of coffee already brewed.

"What in the –"

"If I'm gonna come over here, you need to have coffee for me, McGee."

Tim turned around to see Gibbs standing in the kitchen doorway, holding a hot cup of coffee.

"Boss, I – you didn't have to –"

"Don't worry about it, Tim."

Tim poured himself a cup of coffee and sat at the kitchen table.

"Boss, um – about last night," he began.

"You're welcome."

Tim nodded and sipped his coffee. He was worth something to his boss after all. His thoughts were broken by a ringing phone. He reached up to grab the landline from its wall hook.

"Hello?"

_"Timothy McGee, you'd better hope you're not home when I get there! You're going to be sorry!" _

The caller hung up, and Tim shakily hung up the phone.

"What's wrong, McGee," Gibbs asked, concern washing over his face.

"Boss, it's Donna. She's coming here, _right now._"

_**TBC, again… I have to end it with Tim facing Donna, since I had her call him in Chapter 2. I hope everyone likes this chapter! It's definitely OOC for Tim, with the drinking and all, but people do some funny things in the throes of depression. Thanks for reading!**_


	4. Chapter 4

_**Notes: This will be the last installment. I have enjoyed writing this story, and I hope you all have enjoyed reading it! I thank you all for your kind reviews, and for all of the alerts and favorites! **_

__"Boss, what am I gonna do?" McGee said, jumping out of his chair. In his haste he knocked his coffee off the table. The cup hit the floor and broke. Tim jumped backward as a ceramic shard embedded itself into the top of his foot. "Damn it!" Gibbs met his junior agent in the middle of the kitchen and forced him back into his seat.

"Easy, Tim! Let me see your foot." Gibbs didn't wait for him to respond. He picked up Tim's foot. "First Aid kit?"

"Under the sink."

Gibbs turned to get it out, when there was a pounding on the front door.

"Tim! You open this door! TIM! God damn it! Open up!"

"Boss—"

"Let her pound on the door." Jethro retrieved the kit and bandaged Tim's foot, after removing the shard easily from his foot. As he finished, the pounding stopped. Jethro and Tim exchanged looks as the next sound heard was that of a key in the lock.

"McGee, you gave her a key?" Jethro said quietly.

"Damn it, the key!" Tim scolded himself. He tried to stand, but Jethro pushed him back down.

"Stay there—"

"Tim! Where the hell are you!" came an angry female voice from the living room. Seconds later, Donna burst into the kitchen, pointing a .45 at Tim. "You had me arrested, Tim," she said with some anguish in her voice. Gibbs, who was still squatting in front of Tim, slowly reached for the gun on his belt. Donna noticed, and took a shot at him, narrowly missing his hand and hitting the floor. The shot threw him off balance, and he fell backwards onto the kitchen floor.

"Take it easy, Donna," Gibbs said gently. "I'm here to help." He raised his hands up in surrender, to show her he hadn't planned on hurting her.

"Get the hell out, Donna," Tim spoke up, attempting to get out of his chair. "Get out now!"

"I'm gonna kill you, Tim! You and your skank girlfriend!" She took a couple of shots at Tim. They missed and went into the wall behind him.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Tim asked, cowering in his chair. "Why would you assume that Kate is my girlfriend? Just because I called her? Kate is my co-worker. I talk to her every day, Donna. _Just _a co-worker!"

"That's bullshit and you know it, Tim!" She took a step closer, the broken mug crunching under her feet. Gibbs got to his feet and attempted to take her weapon, but he slipped on the wet floor. Donna took the opportunity to swing her arm at Gibbs, hitting him square in the face. He took a few steps back, holding his nose.

"Damn it!" he cursed. Donna didn't stop there. She took aim at Gibbs while he was distracted with his nose, and shot him in the shoulder. He went down in a heap.

"No!" Tim shouted, jumping out of his chair in a rage. This was ending, now, and he would be the one to end it. He charged Donna, pushing her against the kitchen counter. He disarmed her and took the clip out of her gun, tossing it in the sink. Donna fought back. She managed to grab a sauce pan that had been left on the counter, and took a swing at Tim. She hit him in the face, hard.

Yelping in pain, Tim stumbled backward. She came at him again, swinging the sauce pan hard as she could, hitting him with it. He tried to fend her off, but she'd caught him off guard, and with each hit his body got weaker. Finally, he'd had enough. As she swung the pan again, he grabbed her wrist, gripping it tight.

"Let go, Tim! Let me go!" she yelled.

"Not a chance. I'm ending this, now." He pushed her backward, and she bumped into the table. She yelped and stumbled, but it didn't stop her. She started picking up the dishes on the table and throwing them across the kitchen at Tim. He ducked and dodged, his dishes smashing against the cabinets behind him.

As she continued to find things to throw at him, Tim heard the most beautiful sound in his life: DiNozzo's voice.

"Probie! You home?" Tony shouted from the living room.

"Tony!" Tim shouted desperately as he ducked to miss a filet knife flying at his face. "In here!"

Tony heard the noise in the kitchen and immediately drew his gun. He cautiously made his way to Tim's kitchen doorway, and p eeked in. He saw his Boss lying on the floor with what looked to be a bullet wound in his shoulder, and Tim cornered by his counter. There was a woman brandishing a chef knife in his partner's face. Tony quietly moved into the kitchen behind the woman. As she pulled her arm back to stab Tim, he reached out and grabbed her arm, snatching the knife from her grip.

"Wouldn't do that if I were you," he said, reaching in his belt for his handcuffs. As he handcuffed the struggling woman, the police entered the apartment and took over. Tim guessed one of his neighbors heard the gunshots, and had called them.

After the police had taken Donna away, and the EMTs rushed in to take care of Gibbs, Tony approached his shell shocked partner.

"Are you all right, Tim?" he asked, concern in his voice.

"I'll be all right, Tony. Thanks," he said, almost condescendingly. He tried to leave the kitchen, but Tony blocked his path.

"You're not all right, Tim. What in the hell happened here?" Tim didn't say anything right away. "Tim, whatever it is, I will not laugh at you. I promise."

Drawing in a shaky breath, Tim told Tony everything. He told him about the frying pan, and what had happened that morning. When he was finished, he stood back.

"Ok, Tony, I know you've got a million jokes in your head, spit them out now."

"This isn't funny, McGee. That crazy bitch could have killed you! Hell, she almost killed Gibbs! If you ever thought I'd make fun of you over this, you're wrong."

"If I'd told you that day I came to the office with the black eye, I'd have never heard the end of it, and you know it."

Tony came over and laid a hand on Tim's shoulder.

"Listen, McGee, I know I poke fun at you a lot, and I'm sorry. You don't have to keep stuff like this from me, though. I'm your friend, aren't I?"

"Well sure, Tony."

"Don't ever feel like you can't talk to me, Tim. Especially with something like this. Domestic abuse is NOT funny. I've seen way too many people get hurt in domestic disputes when I was a Baltimore Cop. It's the worst call I could ever get, to go to a home and see two people, a couple, beating the hell out of each other. It's usually the other way around, but it's not unheard of for the woman to be the abuser. You're the victim here, Tim. None of this is your fault. None of it, you hear me?"

Tim nodded. Tony had his hands on Tim's shoulders at this point, and was shaking him as he spoke.

"Thanks Tony," was all Tim could say.

"Any time, Probie."

"You two want—to get a room?"

Both heads turned as Gibbs was slowly being wheeled out of the kitchen on a gurney.

"We're done, Boss. We'll meet you at the hospital."

"Case – Lance Corporal—"

"I'll call Agent Balboa. He can wrap it up for us."

"Balboa!" Gibbs tried to shout as he was wheeled out of the apartment.

Tony and Tim chuckled. Tony always knew how to get a rise out of the Boss.

_**NCISNCISNCISNCISNCIS**_

After the local police questioned Tim, and demanded his bloody clothing as evidence, Tim went and got dressed, and he and Tony headed up to the hospital. Gibbs was still in surgery when they got there, so they settled in the surgical waiting area.

After an hour and a half, a tall man in green scrubs came into the waiting room.

"Family of Leroy Jethro Gibbs?"

"That's us," Tim said, jumping out of his chair. "How is he?"

"He'll be fine. We got the bullet and patched up the wound. Surprisingly, there was minimal blood loss. We're moving him into a room now. You'll be able to come back and see him in a few minutes."

McGee sighed in relief. He wasn't sure what he'd have done if something had happened to Gibbs in surgery.

A few minutes later, Tim found himself lingering outside Gibbs hospital room. DiNozzo had already gone in and left.

"You gonna stand out there all day, McGee?" Gibbs shouted.

_He always knows! _Tim thought. He slowly entered the room, closing the door behind him.

"How are you, Boss?" he asked shyly.

"I'll be fine, Tim. How are _you?" _

"A little banged up, but I'll be all right." He looked at Gibbs' arm, hanging in a sling. "Boss, I—"

"You have nothing to be sorry for, McGee. I should be apologizing to _you. _ I did a crappy job of having your six."

"You got shot for me, Boss. You've given "having my six" a whole new meaning."

Jethro smiled.

"I'm glad you're all right, Tim."

"Now that she's in jail, yeah, I'm awesome!" Tim said, smiling. His face suddenly got serious, and he leaned in toward Jethro. "One thing… Kate can never find out."

Jethro laughed. Kate would not react well to knowing that he'd been shot protecting McGee from a woman who accused him of having a torrid workplace affair with his female co-worker.

"I think we can agree on that."

_**FINIS!**_

_**Did my ending totally suck? Please review and tell me what you think! **_


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